Southampton have parted ways with Ivan Juric a day after the club’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed.
Saints, rock-bottom of the top flight, were sent back down to the Championship on Sunday following a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham.
With seven matches still to play, it is the earliest a Premier League club has ever been relegated in terms of games remaining.
With the club still marooned on 10 points, it could get even worse. They have seven games left to add to their points tally and match or better the 11 points Derby County collected in the 2007-08 campaign.
But Juric will not be leading them in that fight to avoid further humiliation.
A statement confirming his departure said: ‘Ivan came to Southampton at a tough time and was tasked with trying to improve a squad in a difficult situation. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen performances progress the way we had hoped, but we would like to thank Ivan and his staff for their honesty and hard work as they fought against the odds to try and keep us up.
‘With relegation to the Championship now confirmed, we believe it is important to give fans, players and staff some clarity on the future as we head into a very important summer.
First team coach Simon Rusk is set to charge until the end of the season, assisted by Adam Lallana.
Juric arrived at St Mary’s in December, replacing Russell Martin who guided the club back to the top flight last season.
The Croatian picked up a point against Fulham in his first game in charge just before Christmas, adding just three more to that tally since.
In is 14 Premier League games in charge, Juric lost 12 of those.
Juric aimed a final swipe at the club on Sunday following the defeat at Tottenham, warning years of recruitment failure have created deep-rooted problems on the south coast.
‘‘Recruitment is everything in football,’ said Juric.
‘We have a lot of talented young players, but with not many games in the Premier League. What I noticed most in three or four months here is the completely different physicality between us and the other teams in the league.
‘Now is the moment to understand the mistakes the club made in the last three or four years and start to create something really good.’
The stats behind Southampton’s morbid season
Juric has won just one of his 14 Premier League matches in charge of Southampton, losing 12 of them.
Saints were nine points adrift of safety when he came in and today are 22 points behind 17th place Wolves.
Southampton’s two heaviest defeats this season have both come at home, with the club battered 5-0 by Tottenham and Brentford in December and January respectively.
Can Southampton earn the point they need to avoid more horrific history?
Southampton have seven games left to pick up the point that would see them draw level with Derby’s record of 11 from 2007-08.
Juric may look to the game against Leicester, also looking doomed 15 points from safety, as a chance to get some final desperate points on the board.
There are also games against sides who are heading into the season run-in with very little to play for. But Juric will of course have their own problems motivating his beleaguered bunch.
Arrow MORE: ‘No rush’ – Bukayo Saka gives huge update on Arsenal contract talks
Arrow MORE: Ben White and Jurrien Timber injury update ahead of Arsenal vs Real Madrid